


Labyrinth

by OnlyHitsuzen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Labyrinth Fusion, Gen, Labyrinth References, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 04:58:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16381880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyHitsuzen/pseuds/OnlyHitsuzen
Summary: Gift work for okunichh, in the 2018 Tomarry Halloween Exchange! I hope you like it! Honestly, your first request, Labyrinth!AU really inspired me, even though I changed it a bit~ I've included a...summary?? Of what's running through my head to lead to the end result.





	Labyrinth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [okunichh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/okunichh/gifts).



 

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=2rg11cg)

 

 _Once upon a time,_ is how Harry remembers the story being told.  _Be warned, for he comes,_ is what he hears now.

Every once in a while, an aunt or uncle or cousin or niece will suddenly, seemingly, change overnight. In the best cases, the family member is more mature, more ready to take on the world, and sometimes more imaginative.

In the worst cases, they are terrified. Lights turned on at all hours of the night, weapons near in case they feel the need to protect themselves from whatever caused their unexplainable fear.

 _But it's not quite that unexplainable_ , Harry thinks to himself, listening as one of his favorite aunts tells the story to the family gathered at her knee. She's a friendly woman, named Emily and fondly called Em. The soothing tone of her voice draws him back in to the story already begun, and he mentally translates what she says into the warning it actually is.

_"Once upon our time, an ancestor of ours, Sarah, found herself faced with the dangerous task of retrieving her much younger brother from the clever and nefarious Goblin King._

_Sarah was victorious, and because this was so, the Goblin King found himself wanting to see what made her so. Every generation he takes one person of her line, male or female or other, always over the age of sixteen. He challenges them, makes them play his games by taking that which they cannot live without, be it family, or item, or, in the more extreme cases, that which cannot normally be touched._

_Those who win, and very seldom do they, say he is a cruel King, testing you to your limits, looking for your_ worth. _To barely win his game is to escape with your life; To best him is to win back your prize. But to impress him is the greatest prize of all, for he is ageless and very seldom impressed. They have said the Goblin King teases them with things beyond the imagination of human minds. He hungers for the challenge he has yet to find._

 _So be careful, be wise, be courageous and make your will that of Iron, strong and unyielding. Most of all, be_ uninteresting _should you find yourself in the presence of the King"._

Harry quirks a small grin at the 'ooohhs' of the children, and carefully does not look at the shadows in the opposite corner of the room. Em smiles softly and worriedly at him. They both know whom the Goblin King has chosen this round. He carefully says good night to his family, and walks slowly up the stairs, keeping an eye on the creeping shadows all the while.

~~~~~~

 

In the end, it is more then cleverness that catches the eye of the Goblin King when they are finally face to face. Harry may be a bloody mess, may have had it up to here with the Goblin King's little traps and attempts to trip him up, but he still finds the strength to look the King dead in the eye as he approaches the glinting red and gold throne.

The hard won necklace around his neck, black as ink and catching the light, sits against his shirt, burning too hot to lay on his skin. Red, almost as red as the blood flowing still from his injuries, colors the eyes of the Goblin King as he watches Harry, unnervingly still. His gaze has remained on Harry since he's stepped foot into the throne room, _probably even more that,_ Harry thinks with a grimace.

Concerned glances from the companions he's made along the way bolster his spirit and he straightens his stance. "Return me to my home and family." Harry doesn't dare yet utter the true name of the Goblin King. It's his ace in the hole, should the King try and worm his way out of granting Harry his request. But from the way his friends tense, and the sudden gleam in those eyes, he figures he may have to use it soon.

"You," comes the low voice, heard only in the complete silence of his throne room, subjects too wary of their King to disobey any order of his, physical or implied, "want to go home?"

 _Yes, as I have clearly just said,_ but Harry grits his teeth and swipes at the sweaty hair on his forehead. The movement makes his awful thunder bolt scar more visible, and the Goblin King's eyes swiftly fly to it. Harry scowls and states firmly," Yes. Send me home. Your highness". It's reluctantly said, and the sharp grin on the King's face says he knows it.

"But Harry, you've so  _impressed_ me," and whoops there it is. Harry can't hold back the groan of disbelief and throws up his hands, nearly sending himself backwards with the unexpected energy put into it.

"Oh, come on, Riddle," he complains, throwing all caution to the ground, using part of the Goblin King's name, and stomping on it, done with all of this. Riddle's lips quickly fall into a flat line, and his gaze  _burns. "_ You know how this works. I win your challenges, you send me back, and in twenty years you pick another poor, hapless member of my family to torture in the name of loneliness."

Riddle stands, dark hair deceptively soft in the warm light. Harry thinks it's ridiculous that the King would resemble a very tall, gorgeous man, if not for his eyes and other worldliness. "I'm quite familiar with how this all works,  _Harry Potter_." Harry winces at the use of his full name. Names, even those from other worlds, have power here. Harry isn't sure how Riddle found out his last name, as his ancestor Sarah was most certainly  _not_ a Potter. "However, you seem to be missing a few key points of the story your  _darling aunt_ loves to tell."

He glides down the steps from his throne, drawing closer to Harry. "I have taken this throne from its once ruler. I am more powerful, more clever, and far more capable then it's last King, who let his adoration distract him from ruling. I have ambition, Harry, and goals beyond this 'game'. But you," and Harry refuses to step back as Riddle finally reaches him, abnormally long fingers reaching out to touch him. The beings he claims as friends hiss at Riddle's nearness but don't interfere."You have drawn my interest. I'll like to make you deal."

A small voice whispers in the back of his mind,  _deals with the devil never end well,_ but Harry is tired and impatient and wants all of this to just be over. "What." 

Tom Riddle outright grins at him, sharp teeth gleaming in a nasty grin. "No member of your family need ever experience this again, as long as you continue to interest me. "

 _As long as you stay here,_ is what Harry hears, and regrets his comment about Riddle's 'loneliness'. "What happens when you lose interest?"  _What happens when you tire of me? Will you take it out on my family?_  

Riddle shrugs carelessly and takes a small step back. "Well, let's not find that out, hmm?"

It's not even a choice, really.

"Deal".

~~~~~~~

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So ideally, with a fleshed out story, here's what would happen:  
> Harry is taken from home by Tom Riddle, the Goblin King. Thanks to his aunts stories and own resourcefulness, Harry becomes a force to be reckoned with, and Tom finds him interesting.
> 
> Occasionally, in the traps he's set as the Goblin King, Tom will appear in a human guise- think human Tom Riddle, as seen in HP flashbacks- and either help him or trick Harry more.
> 
> Of course Harry would grow alternately fond of and irritated by this 'Tom' character and his mysterious ways, before finding out that Tom Riddle is indeed the feared Goblin King. Tom himself would not know, yet , that Harry knows his 'True Name' and appear before him a few more times before eventually figuring out why Harry is so suddenly careful of him.
> 
>  
> 
> Harry agrees to stay with Tom to A) Keep his family out of danger and to B) Reconcile the Tom he's grown to like with the Goblin King. There would be more about how the two of them work together, and eventually against Toms enemies,as Harry figures out that he can help both Tom and this world just by being there.
> 
> Eventually, Tom would let Harry go back to this family of how own free will, but Harry keeps his promise and will occasionally visit his family, and be able to bring his family into the Goblin Kings world, with its rich charcters and beauty in odd places.
> 
> (and much fluff and falling in love in between the lines :3)


End file.
